BOSTON, April 13th, 2022 – On May 15th, 1948, the world witnessed the establishment of a Jewish state in the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. Seventy-four years later, the State of Israel stands as the embodiment of Zionism, the global movement supporting Jewish self-determination.
This year, CAMERA on Campus is proud to inaugurate the second iteration of This is What a Zionist Looks Like (TWZLL), a campaign celebrating the history of the Zionist movement and honoring the great minds and communities that contributed to the development and advancement of the State of Israel and the Zionist movement.
“A Zionist is someone who understands that Judaism is not ‘just’ a religion, but the values and ideology of a people. A Zionist is someone who understands that Israel is not ‘just’ a country that is nearly 75 years old, but a love story of the Jewish people in love with the same land for thousands of years,” said Gil Troy, a History Professor at McGill University.
“This effort is a natural outflow of our unwavering support for Jewish and Zionist students on campus. It combines the best of our research and media monitoring expertise, love for the Jewish state, and a creative team that provides students with the tools to deepen their understanding and educate their peers on what Zionism is all about,” said Aviva Rosenschein, International Campus Director for CAMERA on Campus.
CAMERA on Campus will publish carousels and infographics on social media highlighting historic Zionist figures, significant events in Zionism’s history and addressing common myths about the movement. A revamped campaign website is also integral to the campaign. It features a historical timeline, comprehensive infographics, and articles published by CAMERA research analysts, campus advisors, and fellows.
Students across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel will partner with CAMERA to host speakers on campus, organize events highlighting Israeli cultural heritage, publish articles that debunk anti-Zionist tropes spread on campus, and organize events highlighting Israeli cultural heritage.
The TWZLL campaign will also feature content that addresses the lies spread by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Solidary for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). These organizations falsely equate Zionism with racism and oppression, a trope derived from the now repelled UN Resolution 3379.
“The conflation of Zionism with Islamophobia and ‘anti-Palestinian rhetoric’ ostracizes Jewish students, like me, who identify as Zionist. Zionism and Palestinian autonomy can co-exist side by side. You can support Palestinian rights without being anti-Zionist — yet most anti-Zionists never even acknowledge Palestinian terror, violence, and rejection of opportunities for a Palestinian state.” said Amir Grunhaus, a third-year undergraduate student and CAMERA Fellow at UC Berkeley.
“We want to send a clear message: we are unapologetically Zionist,” said Alex Berman, a third-year student at the University of Miami. “As a religious and ethnic minority, Jews in the Eastern Bloc were targeted and oppressed by the Soviet regime. The State of Israel granted my family freedom and security they would not have found elsewhere. My support for Israel is inseparable from my Jewish identity,” continued Berman.
For more information, visit www.zionism.me and follow #ThisIsWhatAZionistLooksLike and CAMERA on Campus on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Interested in contributing to the campaign? Visit opensubmissions.camera to review our submission guidelines and have your article featured on the CAMERA on Campus website.
About CAMERA:
Founded in 1982, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is a media monitoring, research, and membership organization devoted to promoting accurate and balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East. CAMERA fosters rigorous reporting while educating news consumers about Middle East issues and the role of the media. Because public opinion ultimately shapes public policy, distorted news coverage that misleads the public can be detrimental to sound policymaking. A non-partisan organization, CAMERA takes no position regarding American or Israeli political issues or ultimate solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Media Contact
Douglas Sandoval
Managing Editor, CAMERA on Campus
douglas@camera.org
Raise your voice! Visit opensubmissions.camera to review our submission guidelines. Have your article featured on the CAMERA on Campus blog.